Finely Tuned
by Star Dazzled
Summary: [Drabble.] Ellie and Craig are hanging out, and she has a little problem with her guitar. [Somewhat AU.]


**Author's Note**: This is a _drabble_, which means it's really short. It's a one shot, and I don't plan on continuing it. Please let me know what you think.  
**Disclaimer**: I'm just a silly fangirl in front of my computer.

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**Finely Tuned**  
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**-**

Ellie strummed absentmindedly at her guitar, the melodic sound of it filling up Joey's garage. Craig sat across from her in a chair, scribbling on a piece of paper -- crossing things out, changing words. He was obviously writing a song.

She watched how he worked -- every now and then he might stop, throw his gaze towards the ceiling, and his lips would move as he whispered his lyrics on a breath, seeing if they sounded right. Or he might tap his pen against his bottom lip, mouth open just slightly as he reread the verse he'd just done. He was so absorbed in his work that he couldn't even feel her brown eyes on him -- nothing else mattered but he and his song. 

_Now_, Ellie thought, smiling slightly , _That's dedication_. 

Craig would never be without his music.

And suddenly, the smooth-flowing music and easy-going atmosphere was shattered by the sound of an off guitar string. Ellie jumped, startled, and she looked down at the acoustic guitar as if she'd never seen it, as Craig's head shot up from what he was doing.

"Wow, ouch." He said, playfully. "Way to end the perfect aura of the room there, Ell."

She flushed slightly, lowering the guitar some and reaching up to tune it. "Sorry." She said, smiling. "I always forget to do this _before_ I play."

She messed with it some, but as she went to play it again, the sound was still off. Once more, her fingers moved swiftly to tighten and loosen the string as need be. And yet, when she test-strummed it, it didn't sound like it should have.

Craig grinned widely, his cute boyish grin that made Ellie's stomach twist, and he stood up, dropping his paper and pen on the floor.

"Here." He said nearing her.

He crouched down in front of her, his hands tweaking the guitar as if he were a professional. As he worked, his brow was furrowed slightly, and his lips were parted just barely. Ellie found she couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

He gave the guitar a strum, tightened the string just a teensy bit more, and smiled. "There." he said, and with a loose strum, the sound of a perfectly tuned guitar filled the room. "All better, eh?"

She smiled again -- normally she would have kept messing with the guitar herself, I mean, who didn't know how to tune a guitar? But it was nice letting Craig do it, it gave her an excuse to be close to him.

"Thanks." She said. Then, jokingly, she added, "What would I do without you?"

Craig laughed, "Wither away and die, of course." He said.

He was still crouched in front of her, their heads level with one another's, and gazes locked. His smile slowly disappeared, to be replaced with an almost curious look, and the garage was suddenly a hundred degrees. The silence was suddenly piercing, and threatening to deafen them.

And Craig started to lean forward. Ellie's breath caught in her throat and she mindlessly swayed towards him. Their lips were so close that she could feel his breath, warm. She started to close her eyes, and --

"Ellie? Hey. Ell?"

She blinked away her daydream, and found Craig still sitting in his chair, song in his lap. He was giving her a raised eyebrow, and smiling slightly.

"What?" She asked confused, color slowly spreading in her cheeks.

"I said, 'Stop zoning out and fix your guitar'." Craig said with a little laugh. "I want to read you what I have so far."

Still flustered, Ellie set about tuning her guitar, lowering her gaze. This wasn't the first time she'd dreamed about him -- daydream or otherwise. She was crushing majorly on this guy, and he didn't seem to notice. And it wasn't as if she could tell him about it.

So instead, she pretended to be interested as he read her his lyrics -- a love song that was written about some other girl. A smile was on his face as he read, a smile that wasn't meant for her.


End file.
